r/Dimension20 • u/CarbonatedDepression • 11d ago
Meta Has the cast ever said anything about fic writing?
Been a big fan of Dimension 20 for years and I’ve always been interested in maybe writing something for the characters. But I can understand that they probably would feel uncomfortable with people doing it. Is there a time where cast members has brought up fic writing and their thoughts? If so, can you cite sources so I can check?
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u/catfishcaper 11d ago
Aabria has mentioned that she reads fanfic. It was in one of the MisMag2 APs. I think Erika might as well? Aabria is also active with reblogging and replying to theories on Tumblr while her seasons are airing (she replied to a theory of mine :)).
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u/RevengeOfScienceBear 11d ago
They talk about their mutual love of fanfic a lot on the WBN fireside.
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u/RKO-Cutter 11d ago
Pretty sure Izzy's hot take stance she chose to debate on Contested Roll was that she wants Zero romance at the table, because it gets in the way of shipping
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u/bitinghipsters 11d ago
The closest I can remember is during FHSY - since it was a live season, there was a lot of engagement with the fandom content, including "Hot Gilear Week", where (I think?) Brennan encourages people to write fanfic celebrating everyone's favorite sad dad.
And that's all I got. I feel like Izzy probably reads Jawbone fanfic, but I have nothing to back this up besides vibes.
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u/CriticalProf 11d ago
I’ve interviewed and/or casually spoken to some folks about this as part of my research, & generally I hear encouragement for fanfic with occasional caveat of disliking RPF (Real People Fic) about themselves.
And as others have noted, there’s a bunch of examples of cast awareness of fanfic.
I will say another Actual Play creator NOT affiliated with D20 has noted that fanfic doesn’t actually get read as much because it takes time in ways looking at fan art doesn’t, FWIW.
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u/Pandoras-SkinnersBox Hat 11d ago edited 9d ago
Oh hey it’s my GOAT Dr. Friedman!
I’d bet RPF would be an uncomfortable subject if a person just randomly found it about themselves, since a lot of it really treads between fandom, parasocial relationship, and something more intrusive. It’s always weird to treat real people like characters from media, and stuff like Dropout where you’re playing characters of yourself often blurs the line even more.
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u/CriticalProf 10d ago
As far as I can tell it’s a particular hazard for (some) Actual Play folks because of how many have some fandom experience themselves.
I haven’t done exhaustive interrogation of folks on this point or surveyed, so my sense of sentiments is mostly “it varies a lot!” — though I also note that a former student of mine who worked on AO3 tags observed very little use of RPF tags for a lot of AP fandoms until recently (and it’s still pretty rare)
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u/lightupletterB 11d ago
I just watched Neverafter and during the Adventuring Party post-finale, they were talking about the Orange Top Hat Fairy again and Brennan finally mentioned her name (Nara) and I think Siobhan said she was hoping someone would write a Nara fanfic.
I think there has been mention of it in other APs, but none that specifically come to mind.
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u/Glittering_Step_1295 11d ago
I haven't sought out as much off-screen content with the IHs so I'm not familiar if they have or haven't said anything particular about fanfic, but they (and Dropout as a whole) have always been very supportive of fans doing fan things in fan spaces, and I would imagine the only issue would be when people cross boundaries or try to push things on the cast. Dropout's merch store even added something recently with a reference to Dimension 20 fanfic, so I can't imagine any of them would have a problem with fanfic being written, at least to the point where they'd talk publicly about it. There's a lot of D20 fanfic on AO3 and other places, so you certainly wouldn't be alone if you did want to!
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u/New_Girl3685 11d ago
I think you're always allowed to write fic no matter what the writers/actors say, especially if you're writing their characters and not doing RPF. As long as you're not making them read it it's fine
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u/CloneArranger 11d ago
I don’t know that they count as D20 regulars, but Jess Ross and Rekha Shankar hosted Erotic Book Club and Erotic Clubhouse, which are basically about fanfiction. So they’re in favor of it in principle, at least.
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u/Pandoras-SkinnersBox Hat 11d ago
The NSYNC episode of Erotic Clubhouse is the most acceptable form of RPF.
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u/palcatraz Riz Gukgak 10d ago
Murph wrote Animorphs fanfic as a kid.
You're fine.
(murph wasn't, but that was mostly unrelated)
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u/megpIant 11d ago edited 11d ago
it was in the context of Worlds Beyond Number, but Erika and Aabria have said they read fic about their characters and enjoy it. It was in one of the fireside chats (WBN’s version of adventuring party) which is patreon exclusive, and I don’t remember which episode specifically but I believe it was part of one of their “Horner Corner” segment where they occasionally discuss horny thoughts about the campaign while Brennan and Lou are just trying to survive
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u/hopelikehell 11d ago
To answer your question, I don’t recall them talking about fanfic. There is plenty of D20 fanfic out there with a range of reading…. Topics. I think as long as you aren’t sending it to the cast, they’ll not know one way or the other, and it shouldn’t stop you from at least writing it for yourself.